New Year, New Momentum: Here are three Copilot updates to get you started into 2026

It's a new year, so I thought I'd start the year by mentioning three features already released, or soon going to be released. One of the features improves the workflow of sharing files with comments, the other improves the application specific Copilot, and the last feature makes it easer to find the nest available timeslot for a 1:1 meeting. As with all of my other posts, timelines can shift, and the timelines in this post is as written in the Message Center at the time of posting. AI-Summary experience when sharing files. With this new feature, copilot intent to help users share files with clearer context in just a few steps. Users will get the capability to generate a concise summary of a file and include it when sharing from the File Explorer share dialog or the OneDrive activity center. This will make it easier to share the context of a file and giving the receiver a faster understanding of what a document or file contains before they open it. General Availability announced...

A couple of noteworthy updates on Microsoft Copilot

Changes to Microsoft Copilot is rolling out with great speed, some are bigger than than others, but sometimes there are minor changes that doesn't really need a separate blog post. Yet many of these changes means a great deal to the end users and how they can use the tool, and we shouldn't forget to mention them. So here are a couple of announced changed and improvements to Microsoft Copilot. 

Uploading images:
Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot users with an Entra account will soon gain the ability to upload images and ask Copilot to analyze or describe them. This feature will be accessible through the Microsoft 365 app, Outlook, and Teams on web, desktop, and mobile platforms. Users can either take pictures with their mobile cameras or upload images directly from their devices. This feature itself, has been around in the public Copilot, but with this update it will now be available to anyone with an Entra account (not just copilot licensed users) and in both "work" and "web" mode. According to the message center, this will start rolling out in late January.

Inline suggestions:
Trying to help user write better prompts, Microsoft is introducing a new prompt auto-suggestion feature. This enhancement will remember useful prompts from Copilot Lab and the user's own prompt history. The feature will be available for Copilot licensed users on Windows desktops, Mac desktops, and the web. According to roadmap item 409962, it is already rolling out.

Name and Icon Change:
Microsoft is changing the name if "Microsoft 365" app to "Microsoft 365 Copilot". This makes a change in how end-users will find themselves using Microsoft Copilot as a starting point for "every" task they have on the web. With this change, users will notice several changes: the top header will be removed, and tools like user profile, settings, and feedback will move to the bottom left toolbar. Apps on the left toolbar will be aligned to the top, and AI-rich experiences like Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Copilot Pages will be grouped together. The organization logo will no longer be visible in the app but will remain in other Microsoft 365 apps. The "Back" button will be removed from the Windows app, but navigation will still be possible via the left AppBar. The "My Day" feature will be removed from the app, but it will still be available in other Microsoft 365 apps. Lastly, the "Help me create" feature will be retired, with AI-powered document creation moving to the Copilot tab.

This last change might require some updates to internal documentation, user-guides and help material as some of the menus are being moved around on the webpage